Can Ripple Win Against SEC in Supreme Court? Deaton Weighs In

It comes as Alderoty hints at the blockchain payments company’s readiness to fight the case to the apex court.

Attorney John E. Deaton has expressed confidence that Ripple can win against the United States Securities and Exchange Commission in the U.S. Supreme Court.

The CryptoLaw founder expressed this view in a tweet yesterday in response to Ripple General Counsel Stuart Alderoty. Notably, Alderoty pointed out that the SEC has lost four out of its last five cases in the apex court, hinting at Ripple’s readiness to go the distance in its fight against the SEC’s claims that all XRP sales represent unregistered security offerings.

Deaton, in his response to Alderoty, expressed complete faith in the ability of the apex court to put a stop to the SEC’s perceived overreach. The lawyer representing thousands of XRP holders as a friend of the court in the case expressed this view citing West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency case, asserting that the Ripple motion for summary judgment is already a well-written appellate brief.

I have no doubt Ripple will win and the current Supreme Court will shut down the @SECGov’s gross overreach. The West Virginia ? EPA case is all you need to read to agree with me. @Ripple’s summary judgment brief is already an extremely well written appellate brief. https://t.co/o3g9zML9S2

— John E Deaton (@JohnEDeaton1) February 20, 2023

For context, West Virginia v. EPA was a case related to the options available to the agency to regulate carbon emissions by existing plants. For the conglomerate of coal mining corporations that fought the case, the EPA was overstepping its congressionally allowed bounds by trying to regulate emissions from existing plants by instructing them to switch to cleaner energy sources entirely instead of through emission-reducing technologies.

On June 30, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of West Virginia. For proponents, it represents a decisive win against regulatory overreach. For detractors, it means a significant blow to the Biden administration’s carbon emission reduction goals.

Notably, the Ripple case still has some ways to go before it can reach the apex court. At the district court, it will have to make it to the circuit, which represents the first level of appeal, before it can get to the Supreme Court. All of these will take years.

Meanwhile, there is no guarantee that it will make it this far. Deaton has noted that the SEC could seek a settlement to stay a potential trial or potential appeals.

At the time of writing, the case over whether XRP represents unregistered security, which has gone on for over two years, is awaiting a decision from Judge Analisa Torres, as both parties have filed all required briefs. Deaton has recently expressed that the SEC has a slim chance of a favorable summary judgment decision.